By 1963 the ‘research’ was being attributed to a ‘big advertising agency’ and the list had shrunk to 10 words.

But the list grew to 12 by January 1970, when a syndicated American columnist named L.M. Boyd wrote:

The 12 most persuasive words in the English language are: you, money, save, new, results, health, easy, safety, love, discovery, proven and guarantee. Or such is the claim of researchers in the Yale psychology department. No salesman should forget this.

From this point on, the myth truly snowballed. The list changed from time to time (to include words like ‘free’ and ‘safety’), and it was variously credited to Duke University, the University of California and other impeccable sources.

And copywriters like me have lapped it up as gospel. Which would make us look foolish, were it not for one thing…

The research may be a myth, but the words are proven to persuade

I haven’t a clue whether there has been any academic research into the magical 12 words, but I do know that the most successful copywriters keep testing the words they use – and keeping an eye out for any that are losing their power to persuade.

In 1963, just a couple of years after the adverts pictured in this post were published, David Ogilvy published his list of the 20 most persuasive words in advertising.

They were:

suddenly

now

announcing

introducing

improvement

amazing

sensational

remarkable

revolutionary

startling

miracle

magic

offer

quick

easy

wanted

challenge

compare

bargain

hurry

There may be remarkable new words these days – but while its easy to test for improvements, it’s not a quick process. So I won’t be announcing any miracles soon…

7 Comments

Interesting stuff. I don’t have a copy immediately to hand but I’m fairly sure a lot of those words are also recommended by John Caples in at least one of his books, particularly his headline formulas (‘announcing’, ‘introducing’, ‘now…’) Given how much both Caples and Ogilvy recommended split tested advertising, I would be surprised if there wasn’t some truth in their effectiveness. But it is very funny to see that the academic research is just a myth.

I don’t have a copy to hand either, but I think you’re right. There was certainly plenty of careful testing going on, from the early days of Lord & Thomas’s ‘Record of Results’ department onwards.

Copywriters have a tendency to cling to lifelines like the 12 words – and it’s a good way of getting quick results. But now it’s easier and cheaper than ever to test words against each other, there’s no excuse not to try running new words and phrases against the old workhorses.

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[...] Copywriting myths: the 12 most persuasive words in the English LanguageNumerous marketing sources have recycled as truth the 12 most persuasive words in English: You, Easy, Money, Save, Love, New, Discovery, Results, Proven, Health, Guarantee. While the list seems plausible, there seeems to be no actual research behind it. Ben Locker does include a list by David Ogilvy which is probably more effective.Tweet12 Most Persuasive Words in Marketing = Myth http://bit.ly/q0lLWJ #Software #Marketing [...]